Stay out of it

For the lovely @Emily

~~~

Okay, so things hadn't been going exactly to plan, and as usual Rhys had been sent out to rectify this. The whole neighborhood knew about the mafia his father ran, and most certainly they knew Rhys. However not by name, no, nobody ever dared ask for his first name, but they all knew the family. Kaine was a notorious family, with an even more well known family business. You needed a loan to start up your new company? No problem! The Kaines would gladly lend you some, though with it came a heavy price. And it was that which Rhys was out to collect today. It was fascinating really, how this otherwise very central place had so much illegal activity. However when people had money to spend, there was sure to be someone taking advantage of it.
Entering a smaller store that sold more niche items the bell above dinged, though it seemed everyone noticed the guy who had arrived. And they knew to avoid him. "A-ah, mi-mister Ka-k-Kaine!" The shop owner stammered, only approaching because he had no other choice, "s-so go-good to s-see y-you," but he stopped talking as he watched the scary guy walk over, opening up one of the lids with candy inside them for the kids. The store owner swallowed, nodding and gesturing him just to take if he wanted, anything to avoid confrontation. "Could we talk somewhere more .. private?" the hybrid asked, his voice deep, but perhaps appearing scarier than he actually was. The store owner was taken aback, frowning but then started to nod as he let one of his employees deal with the servicing of a customer. Rhys, filling his pocket with a couple of sweets, followed the store owner to the back room.
"So sorry, miss, you said you were looking for?" The clerk asked a girl she was serving, showing her some different items.

She had gotten quite used to a new life that wasnt revolving around school and everything it had used to be. Caring about her old friends and fashion and everything that seemed so trivial in a life after death. Dressed in an old hoodie she had thrifted, she kept the hood up to somewhat hide her face away. She still didnt want to be recognized and she stood out quite a bit as it was. She had found out that she liked things that her old self would have shuddered in disgust just by seeing. So a cute little store with a bunch of niche items had peaked her interest. She had found an old box that she could wind up and play a tune from. It was hidden behind a bunch of mass products of cheap crap, so she found herself lucky.
She was standing with the owner by the register as someone stepped in, and by the look on the owner's face, not someone good. In fact, it seemed that everyone in the store was moving away to hide, either by looking at something at the shelves that would hide them away or just go to the other end of the room. The mystery guy seemed to really scare the owner and as Emily glanced at him, she couldnt figure out why? Her eyes followed as the owner and the guy left before the question made her look at the clerk. "Uh... No, just this box." she said, placing the music box down on the counter. "Who was that?" she asked, as inappropriate as it may be when he clearly seemed dangerous.

The store clerk made a nervous chuckling sound, shaking her head a little as she made sure to wrap up the box so it wouldn't be damaged during transport. The question however seemingly disturbed her in some way. "Some things are better left unknown, miss," she said rather politely, finishing packing up the box and ringing the item up on her small till. "Receipt?" she asked, tilting her head in a friendly manner, but just then a loud bang was heard from the back room. The clerk looked slightly panicky as she tried keeping a friendly smile on her face, "Have a nice day, miss," she said, not really paying attention to whether or not the young woman left. Instead she hurried out back where Rhys was standing by some boxes of goods, blood on his knuckles as he sighed.
"You know what they say, Mortimer, it's not me, it's you," he muttered, clearly running out of patience. Walking closer to the store owner, he squatted down, grabbing at the man's hair and pulling him up. "Now I'm a patient man, but my father isn't .. Have the money by the end of the week or I'll have to come by and find the money in the store; Got it?" Releasing the man, he grabbed some stray cloth, drying off his hand as he sighed, at least he hadn't gotten blood on his clothes.
He went for the exit, out back through the store, however stopping at a girl who didn't seem to shy away. Digging in to his pocket he fished out a lollipop, handing it to her, he folded her hands around it, nodding a bit before heading outside. He headed down the street, needing to visit a few other stores before he could head back.

It was maybe not her business to meddle in, but she was wondering how someone could have such an effect on everyone around him? The polite answer made her frown a little. She watched as the box was wrapped, the loud bang drew her attention as well. She grabbed the receipt, stuffing it in her front pocket along with the box now wrapped up, but she wasnt too sure she wanted to go. What if someone was getting murdered out there? She would at least be a witness!
She remained by the register. She wasnt too concerned with her own well being. She had already died once, so what was the guy going to do? Kill her again? It probably wouldnt work. He came back out and she eyed him with a frown as he seemed to hand her a lollipop - That he had stolen from this place! It was absurd. She looked at the lollipop in her hand before she puckered her mouth in anger, stepping outside just to hurl the damned candy after him. "You can keep that, asshole!" she just yelled, hoping that she would hit him and hit him well!

Out on the street he pulled up the hood on his jacket, patting his pockets down for his packet of cigarettes as something hard hit the back of his head. The loud yell gave away who had done it, and the shopping people seemed to cower as Rhys turned around. The lollipop laid on the ground, broken and he sighed as he looked at it. People seemed to clear out, heading in to shops to avoid him as his hazel intense eyes moved from the broken candy up to the girl who had thrown it. He hummed, leaning down to pick it up, moving over to place it in to a trash can. She was odd, wasn't she? "Kinda harsh coming from a stranger," he said, his voice raspy from smoking cigarettes and perhaps something else. Narrowing his eyes a little, he almost looked in to her soul, and yet he couldn't find any source of fear in her. How strange.
"Have a good day," he sounded almost polite, though he didn't care much for that gesture. He only spoke like that out of formality and the fact that his father had beaten it into him. He found his packet of cigarettes, popping the bud between his teeth before lighting it. Turning back around he started moving down the street, and if the curious girl was stupid enough to follow she would see him head in and out of stores. Some places he was getting more merchandise, other places he was seemingly walking out in a greater mood.

"You just handed me candy that you stole." she argued, not seeing how she was the harsh one here. Everyone seemed so scared of him, but she just thought that she was looking at a jerk, not someone to be scared of like everyone seemed to be. He bid her a good day, and she crossed her arms, watching him walk off. She probably should have minded her own business but she wanted to know what it was that everyone saw that seemed so scary. If he was some gang banger going around spreading fear?
She followed him just for a bit, keeping back and pretending to mind her own business whenever he came out. Eventually she realized that he was some sort of criminal loan shark, collecting money or valuables for whatever service that had been promised. She had seen movies about that, back when she had a life.
Eventually she retracted and headed towards her home. She lived in a small apartment, just keeping a quiet life. Maybe when she knew that all her friends and family who knew her had passed away, she'd think about education and resuming a proper life. But before she went home, she'd go back to the small store, head inside. "Are you looking to hire?" she just asked the clerk with a sweet smile over her lips.

Rhys was far from blind, and that strange girl was bad at hiding away. He knew she followed him, but he couldn't care less, in fact the only thing about her that made him confused was the fact that she wasn't cowardly trying to hide from him like everyone else. He hadn't really encountered people who were immune to him before, and if he had, he knew he had other options of scaring them off. But for one reason or another, he wasn't pursuing to scare her.

When the sweet young woman came back the clerk looked rather surprised. At first thinking that maybe she had regretted her purchase but then the question came and the clerk looked down with a small frown. "We could use an extra hand around here, but we can probably only afford to hire you for a few hours a week," she confessed, though encouraging her to come back with an application whenever she had time. The clerk introduced herself as Mary, and it was her father, Mortimer, who owned the store.

She wouldnt just let this bully trample down the nice owner of this store. So she would cause them as little trouble as she could when she showed up. “No, I think maybe an internship would be better. Like a trial period? I could use the experience?” She suggested. She wasnt usually this nice but a certain clergy had taught her a thing or two about being kind. She just felt a little sad that he never had time to see her. But she also wished the best for him.
“I’ll come by with my resume and all that stuff.” She told Mary before she introduced herself as Emily. Fuck, she hoped they wouldnt do background checks here. At least because her fake ID had the looks but was in reality just a piece of plastic and nothing more.

When she returned home she opened a can of tuna and went to feed the stray cat that sometimes passed by the building. She wanted to take it in but she didnt have the time or space to care for it. “I’m going to help the nice people at the store. I mean, what’s the worst he could do? He cant kill me, I’m already dead? Maybe lock me away.. Nah, he wouldnt even think of that.” she pondered. But that would also mean keeping her someplace, feeding her and making sure she wasnt causing trouble. “Oh well… I bought this.” She told the stray who was gulping down the tuna, taking out the box and winding it up before hearing the tune. It was very old, definitely worn out by time. But that made her happy. She put it down on the ground and listened to the tune. But eventually she got up to go look for food. One of the downsides of being dead would be the fact that she loved rotten food more than normal food. And a lot of people werent that considerate with foodwaste.

She dropped by the store with her papers the day after, still insisting on the internship rather than being paid and taking money from them. She got along just fine as she was now.

Mary seemed a little more hopeful as the sweet young woman offered herself as an intern, nodding as she seemed to think she could at least convince her father of that.

The next day, she would be greeted by Mortimer who had a band-aid covering his cheekbone, his face a little swollen, but otherwise he seemed happy to take her in for an interview. The fact that this girl, Emily as it said on her ID, was offering herself up without payment didn't quite sit right with him, and yet he couldn't really afford to pay her much to begin with.
"I will hire you, but I would feel bad about putting you on a schedule; How about you pick your own hours?" he suggested, smiling very kindly at the girl in front of her. Perhaps her tattooed face would've been a turn-off for some, but Mortimer didn't seem too bothered. "I'll also write up a contract for you; My daughter mentioned you wanted this for experience, so better do it the right way," he chuckled, getting up before giving her his hand as a gesture of good faith. All in all, Mortimer and his daughter Mary seemed like very kind people.

The days passed, and Mary was slowly showing how Emily should restock the shelves and fix up when kids had been in and messing around with their more interesting items. Mortimer was in the back, running some numbers and checking the stock, so it was just her and the intern in the actual store. "I was wondering if you could watch the store while I go out and grab a few items?" she asked, clearly trusting her a lot already. Besides if she was in doubt about anything, Mortimer would be in the back for her. "It'll only be an hour or so, I just ordered this dress online and the postal service dropped it off at the wrong pick up place," rolling her eyes as she chuckled.

Mary chuckled, her face getting bright red, "well my girlfriend is taking me out for dinner to celebrate our one year anniversary," she admitted, not sure why she was even blushing. Perhaps because she felt so happy and maybe it was silly that she was dressing up for it. "Don't tell my dad," she pleaded, reaching over to place a hand on Emily's covered arm, "he's not homophobic or anything, he just don't want me to date anyone." She giggled softly, shaking her head a little. He had enough stuff to worry about, and her love life wasn't for him to dig in to. Looking at the time she sighed, "I gotta go now before they close," grabbing her bag and handing Emily the key to the store, "if I'm back later than expected, I'll bring lunch - my treat."
With that she hurried out the store, heading down the busy street. A few customers came and went, some needing help, others just getting the usual. Well, that was when a goony stepped in to the store, wearing a classic get-up of a leather vest and a white t-shirt beneath it. He looked around, clearly a bit daft in the head as he soon enough located the worker there. He frowned as it clearly wasn't someone he recognized. He stepped closer to the disk, looking the store worker up and down as if he was trying to force himself to remember her. "Your boss here?" he grunted.

The goon seemed perplexed, like the whole concept of the owner not being there didn't make sense. There truly was nothing between his two ears, and yet he went off of the next best thing on his script. "When's he gon' be back?" he asked, clearly looking unsure of himself, but also for some reason very nervous. If he had to go back empty handed, then he would have to pay. Gritting his teeth he looked around, walking over to the window and looking out. There was no sign of the old man anywhere and he felt more worried for himself.
If Emily couldn't give him a straight answer he would simply nod before leaving the store. Once he was down the street, as if on cue, Mortimer stepped in to the store. "Ah, Emily dear, could you give me a hand with some boxes? The back ain't what it used to," he chuckled, his lips pulling up in a friendly and rather warm smile. He was looking around for his daughter, but she usually ran out to grab them lunch about this time, so he wasn't too worried.

Mortimer smiled as she was happy to help. He was really appreciative of her being here despite him not paying her. Of course she could leave any day, but she seemed to like it as well. Showing her where the boxes should be, he crossed them off his list, but he stopped briefly as she mentioned the guy who had come asking for him. However the description made him feel a bit more at ease, though that could only mean one thing. "Well I'm pretty well known as the owner," he chuckled, just brushing it off, though it was clear he wasn't in the same happy mood as before. The rest of the boxes he could handle himself, and as the bell out front rang for service he wouldn't hold Emily back just for that.

Rhys was standing by the disk, rolling a small item between his palms, rubbing it lightly even throwing it from one hand to the other. As he saw the dark haired girl from a few days prior he frowned, but otherwise kept a more or less neutral expression.

Rhys just chuckled, stopping the item before placing it down on the disk between them. He tilted his head a little as he looked at her. "You're lying," he just said flatly, his hand moved over to toy with some other things on display, just mixing up a few things. Picking things up, putting them down, but not really putting anything in his pocket or breaking anything. "You need to be better at lying when I'm around," he just said, lifting up a candy bar, flipping it over to see what was in it but not really reading it.
"You fooled the idiot who was sent here first," he said, tapping the candy bar against the disk as a slight creepy smile appeared slowly on his lips, "but lying to me?" He clicked his tongue, shaking his head no in disapproval. Clearly not happy with it, and yet he was curious as to why she wasn't shying away or hiding. Most people did. "Tell the old man to come out, and I won't take his daughter as collateral for the payments he's been avoiding," he said in a serious tone.

Scare tactics? He had to chuckle, watching as she was now threatening him with the candy bar. Quite the comedic look this had. "But I do have the means to get her," he pointed out with a slight shrug, tapping his fingers against the disk now. He was quite taken by her right now, just studying her features and how angry she looked. Would he ever get to see her smile? "I mean, last I saw her she was heading towards the post office," not saying where he had that information from. Some things were better kept secret.
But just then she asked him something that made him frown a little perplexed perhaps. "How much?" he asked, poking a small figure that started to wobble back and forth, though never truly falling. "I guess that depends on what you're asking for."

"Stalking or just keeping an eye out for her safety? I guess it depends on who you're asking," he just said, not really worried about her judging him. Everyone did. Whether it was hiding away or thinking of him as a lowlife.
There wasn't many things in this world that could make him laugh, but seeing her roll her eyes made him smile, chuckling as she spoke about money. Oh, if it had only been so simple. "You tell me," he said, leaning over the disk, looking at her with curious eyes, "how much money is a life worth?" he asked, implying that it was something far sinister than just simply money. Money was easy to come by, it had no real value in the grand scheme of things.

He shrugged at her question. There was no need to state it; That would be admitting to a crime. And Rhys wasn't interested in that. He had noticed her eyes getting a distant look to them, but he didn't see fear like he normally would. Kind of strange, and yet he found it amusing. Perhaps that was why he was chuckling the way he did. She seemed to soften up, dropping her defensive stance and he hummed at her words. They were indeed very sweet words to describe this little store owner and his family, but perhaps she would think otherwise had she known what he did.
"Listen kiddo, I don't think it's wise for you to meddle with this shit, alright?" he just put it plainly. She seemed a bit misguided, but in the end he didn't see her as a threat. He leaned back and away from her, touching the candy jar once again, digging his hand in to it, pulling out a few pieces. He handed her a lollipop once more, even if she would throw it after him, he would still present it to her. "I don't know what he's told you .. But I'm not the guy who ordered a hitman, you feel me?" he chuckled. He leaned away, turning on his heal to leave.

It was clear she wasn't in to the lollipop, but he didn't care, or so it seemed at least, folding her fingers around it, even if it would be put back in the jar. He went for the door, and rightfully so she asked however he thought he had made himself very clear. "Oh, never trust a word I say; I'm always lying," he chuckled, waving calmly at her before exiting the store. He placed the sweets in his pocket, patting it softly before heading down the street.
You could hear a pin drop in the small store by how silent it had gotten. That was until Mortimer stuck his head out, "is he gone?" he asked, looking around just to be sure. The old man was a coward, however at this age it could be excused. He frowned a little, seeing the mess that the guy had left behind, sighing to himself as he walked over to arrange the candy bars in the right order once more.